From vocational skills to mastering technology
From 2020, October 4th every year is chosen as "Vietnam Labor Skills Day" to encourage the spirit of lifelong learning and training to improve skills and qualifications of students and workers; honor and affirm the position and importance of skilled workers, especially highly skilled workers with excellent professional skills.
Vietnamese vocational skills reach out to the world playground
At the end of September 2026, at the "World Vocational Skills 2026" competition held in Shanghai (China), the Vietnamese delegation achieved an impressive result when winning 3 Excellent Vocational Skills Medals.
The "World Professional Skills Competition 2026" is the largest in history, with more than 1,400 contestants from more than 70 countries and territories, competing in 64 professions. Thousands of observers and international visitors also attended the event.
The exam aims for strong innovation, spreading the message about the role of vocational skills in building the future and promoting positive changes for people and society.
The Vietnamese delegation participated in 11 occupations including: Mechatronics, Refrigeration, CAD Mechanical Engineering Design, Fashion Garment Technology, Renewable Energy, CNC Milling, CNC Convenience, Car Paint, Health and Social Care, Electrical Installation and Heavy Motor Vehicle Technology.
These are all professions that require candidates to have solid professional knowledge, creative thinking, technology application ability, accuracy and high discipline.
In the final results, the Vietnamese delegation won 3 Medals for Excellent Vocational Skills (Medal for Excellence) in the professions of CNC Milling, CNC Milling and Renewable Energy. They are Do Van Duc - contestant in the CNC Milling profession, Nguyen Ngoc Duoc - contestant in the CNC Milling profession, Mr. Phu Quy - contestant in the Renewable Energy profession.
Notably, Do Van Duc was selected as a contestant with outstanding achievements representing Vietnam to be honored at the closing ceremony.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper immediately after the "World Vocational Skills 2026" competition, Do Van Duc said that he is a student majoring in Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering of Hanoi University of Industry. More than 1 year ago, Duc temporarily suspended his studies after Denso Vietnam Company recruited vocational candidates.
The 2026 World Professional Skills Competition" is a very difficult competition, because the contestants are all very good from countries around the world participating" - Duc said. "Our Vietnamese delegation also tried very hard to achieve that result. But honestly, the Excellent Professional Skills Medal is not my goal, but it must be Top, with Gold and Silver Medals. From this competition, I see that the skills of Vietnamese workers are also very high, and at the same time creative. For example, I and the teachers created standard and more accurate measures that made the opponent team have to go to learn.
According to Do Van Duc, mastering vocational skills will create foundations for workers to master technology. Talking about the future, Duc said: "I will continue to learn and train, with the experience I have in the competitions, I may participate in teaching and igniting skills for the next generations.
In the context of increasing competition, the fact that 3 contestants won excellent Vocational Skills medals at the "World Vocational Skills 2026" competition, including representatives honored at the closing ceremony, is a noteworthy milestone in the integration journey of Vietnamese Vocational Skills.
The results at the 2026 exam also create more motivation for vocational and higher education institutions to continue to innovate programs, training methods, and strengthen training with technology and the actual requirements of the labor market.
Through playgrounds such as the "World Professional Skills" competition, the young Vietnamese generation has more opportunities to affirm their capacity, bravery and ability to adapt to the increasingly high professional standards of the world.
Changing thinking about professional skills
For many years, when mentioning the competitive advantage of Vietnamese workers, the factors often mentioned are diligence, adaptability and a young workforce. However, in the context of a rapidly changing global supply chain, the 4th industrial revolution is spreading, that advantage is no longer enough. Vietnamese workers who want to participate more deeply in the international market cannot just stop at "being able to work", but must move towards mastering vocational skills, technology and innovative thinking.
From mechanics, direct factory workers to automation technicians, smart production line operators, a new generation of workers is forming. They not only create "Made in Vietnam" products, but also step by step participate in the design, operation and technology improvement process - important links for Vietnam to enhance its position in the global value chain.
Reality over the years shows that the quality of human resources is one of the decisive factors in Vietnam's ability to attract investment and industrial development. International businesses, when choosing production locations, not only pay attention to labor costs, but also increasingly pay attention to the ability to operate technology, manage quality and improve processes of workers.
In manufacturing industries such as precision mechanics, electronics, automobiles, supporting industries, textiles, footwear... the requirements for workers have changed significantly. Workers no longer just perform repetitive operations according to instructions, but must understand the process, read production data, handle incidents and coordinate with modern machinery systems.
This is also the reason why many Vietnamese businesses have focused on building a learning culture in factories recently, considering vocational skills training as a long-term investment instead of short-term costs.
Digital transformation in businesses cannot be successful if it is only seen as a story of software, machinery or management systems. The center of this process is still people.
In a smart factory, workers do not lose their role, but their role is enhanced. They become operators, supervisors and operators of technology. An automated production line is only effective when there is a team of workers capable of understanding technology, analyzing data and making appropriate decisions.
Many businesses are currently implementing training programs for workers to access digital skills, from using production management software, automation equipment to data analysis tools. This is an important shift, because if technology develops but workers are not equipped with corresponding capacity, the gap between humans and machines can become a barrier.
Especially, in the context of artificial intelligence (AI), robots and automation strongly impacting the labor market, improving skills is no longer an option but has become a mandatory requirement.
Workers need to shift from the mindset of "working with machines" to "mastering technology". That means knowing how to exploit technology to improve work efficiency, not just passively adapting to changes created by technology.
Vietnam is increasingly deeply involved in the global supply chain. Many international corporations have chosen Vietnam as a production, research and development base. However, to not only be a destination for simple production stages, Vietnam needs to improve its endogenous capacity, in which the key factor is the quality of human resources.
An economy that wants to develop sustainably cannot only rely on the advantage of cheap labor. The greater value lies in a team of highly skilled workers, capable of creativity and mastering technology.
Vietnamese workers today are not just standing in front of machines to complete a production stage. They are gradually participating in the process of improving and operating modern systems and creating products that meet international standards.
From vocational training classes in vocational schools, skills courses at businesses to small initiatives in each workshop, a transformation journey is taking place: From skilled workers to workers with technological capacity.
That is the foundation for Vietnam not only to participate in international playgrounds by the number of workers, but by the quality, intelligence and creativity of Vietnamese people.
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